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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23178508">Last Flight Home</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jahgyong/pseuds/benDghey'>benDghey (Jahgyong)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>All Time Low (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Elemental Magician!Rian, Fae!Zack, Flashbacks, Found Family, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Incubus!Jack, Jinni/Genie!Alex, M/M, Magic, Mention of Capturing, Mention of Corruption, Mind Reading, unrequited pining</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 15:34:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,134</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23178508</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jahgyong/pseuds/benDghey</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Alex finds out that:<br/>1) Demons can have a heart<br/>2) Home is where the heart is, and that doesn't always mean with biological family</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jack Barakat &amp; Alex Gaskarth, Jack Barakat/Alex Gaskarth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Last Flight Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/5338817">Wishful Thinking</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/mythomusicians/pseuds/mythomusicians">mythomusicians</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hi all!! this fic is actually a spinoff based on another story, one that i love so much that i have reread an embarassing amount of times lmao it is linked, so pls give it (and the others in the series) some love if you want to read more about this verse, or if you want to learn about the origins of some aspects in this story! </p>
<p>title comes from the all time low song of the same name.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>To Alex, permanently living in the physical world again still felt off some days. For centuries, all he’d known was being in that horrid, blue glass bottle, mostly passing his days sleeping, or playing guitar when sleep evaded him. Being out in the real world 24/7 now and manifesting as a concrete entity was sometimes still surreal. Living with Jack, going to school with him, helping around his house, and hanging out with Zack and Rian all still felt like a dream once in a while. Every now and then, Alex found himself waiting for it all to suddenly end, for him to open his eyes and see the dimmed blue of the bottle’s glass, waking up to another long day of hoping to be summoned. But he was getting used to it. It didn’t feel bad, this living in the corporeal realm. In fact, he quite enjoyed it; it was obviously better than living in a cramped bottle. It was just difficult to fully shake off hundreds of years’ routine; Alex was trying, though. Slowly, but surely, he was making progress.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Two months had passed since Jack had summoned him from the confinement of his bottle one April day, two months since Jack had also freed him from that damned curse. Alex was growing comfortable with his new routine: waking up at the Barakat household, accompanying Jack to school albeit being invisible (he would register for school for the upcoming year), practicing their instruments with Rian and Zack in Rian’s basement, doing his best to help out with chores at Jack’s house, falling asleep in Jack’s room… sure, it was basically the same stuff day after day, but this beat waking up in his bottle, waiting for someone to summon him, and falling back asleep when no one did. Besides, people here cared about and liked him. Okay, Jack’s family had been a bit iffy at first about his presence, but that had been understandable. No parent would be happy if their kid suddenly announced that they had made a new friend who would be living with them because this friend didn’t have a house of their own. It took a lot of assisting with chores and cooking, plus making some necessary objects “conveniently appear” when someone needed them the most, for Jack’s family to start warming up to him. And, no lie, Alex found it amusing when Jack’s mom compared her own son to him, ala some variation of “Alex helps me cook, but not you.” or “You’ve been living here longer than Alex, but why does he know what needs to be done more than you?”. At first, Alex had only started helping around the house to avoid getting kicked out, but he wound up finding a passion in cooking, something that he had never been able to do even before he had been captured. Now, he genuinely enjoyed aiding Mrs. Barakat with making dinner, despite Jack’s complaints of “Stop kissing my mom’s ass” and “Alex, you’re such a goody two shoes, you know that?”.</p>
<p>However, on this particular day, he’d chosen not to go to school with Jack, shattering the usual routine. <em>Why? </em>Jack had questioned, frowning. <em>I don’t feel that good, </em>he'd lied, which had led to Jack asking <em>Can genies actually get sick?</em>, followed by <em>Mom! Alex says he’s too sick to go to school today and I think I caught whatever he has! </em>Of course, Jack’s mother did not believe her own son and made him go to school anyway. Luckily, due to running on a higher body temperature than humans, Alex had been able to fool Mrs. Barakat into believing that he had come down with a fever. <em>Poor boy, </em>she had said before telling him to get lots of rest and drink plenty of fluids. <em>Will do, thanks, ma’am, </em>he’d replied, all while shooting a smug smile Jack’s way. Now, he was sitting there cross-legged on Jack’s bed, index finger resting on his chin in a cliche thinking pose. Well, he actually was doing some heavy contemplating.</p>
<p>Obviously, for the first little while after he’d been freed, all he had been able to focus on was reintegrating into society again, on fitting in with other humans. Since Jack had decided not to tell his family and other friends that he was now an incubus, there had been no way that Alex could have revealed that he was actually a jinni. Now, two months later and pretty well-accustomed to regular civilian life, Alex had time to reflect… on his past. The whole capturing-and-cursing ordeal had severely traumatized him, still affecting him to this day, so he did his best to not think about that incident, or the years spent living in a bottle and being used by stupid humans afterward. Instead, he frequently allowed his mind to wander into fuzzy thoughts about the times <em>before </em>all that shit had happened. Memories about… his old house, his family, the scenery in that era, the constant stream of visitors… he missed all those. He even missed the parties that had occurred at his home on a regular basis, a surprising memory that was. Back then, he’d been sick of guests, be they other jinn or human travellers, infiltrating his house near-daily because the sounds of their raucous laughter and chatter had kept disrupting his alone time, but now, he sort of missed those reverberating noises of others having a good time.</p>
<p>Alex sighed, absently eyeing one of Jack’s posters hung up on the wall across from him. On the one hand, it felt great to now be able to zone out without his magic wreaking havoc as he did so. He used a little bit of his powers every so often that his magic reservoir within didn’t have many opportunities to overflow anymore. Bless somebody in Jack’s family “needing something at a certain time, but not wanting to go to the store to buy it”. Additionally, being around the rest of his band helped, as any surrounding magic had four sources to flow to rather than just him. However, what <em>didn’t </em>feel great was not being able to relive any of these past memories, the pleasant ones. He was a “15 year old kid with no job and no money”; he couldn’t afford a round-trip plane ticket to Italy with the chump change allowance that Jack’s mom gave him once in a while. Besides, even if he could, he had no idea whereabouts his old home exactly was in Italy. It’d be easier to just teleport there.</p>
<p>Which is what he had been trying for the past month-ish.</p>
<p>A few nights a week, when no one would be able to see him, Alex practiced teleporting to Italy. He was adept at teleporting from one end of the room to the other, but that didn’t require <em>too </em>much magic or skill. Teleporting across a whole ocean was another story, this one needing significantly more magic, energy, and ability. It really wasn’t that easy for him--yet. Alex was determined to change that, though. He <em>would </em>change that… right now.</p>
<p>Taking a deep breath, he stood up, closing his eyes. The very first time he’d attempted this, he’d only been able to send himself barely outside the city limits. His latest practice session had taken him to Milan; yes, he’d managed to get to Italy, just not his house. Hoping that he wouldn’t lose steam halfway through and wind up dropping himself in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean <em>and </em>that it wouldn’t take him five hours aka when Jack was due back from school, Alex called to mind an image of his old home. He continued focusing on that mental picture, making sure that his attention didn’t stray from it to other thoughts, as he felt the magic flow through his body, fire coursing through his veins. He was off to Italy.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Teleporting had felt weird at first, whatwith the wind whipping past his ears and the sensation of being shot forward at great speed, akin to being on an accelerating rollercoaster. It was bearable when transporting only several metres away, as it always ended before he could even process anything. But Alex couldn’t lie: he’d freaked out the first time travelling like this overseas. Having been startled by the increasing velocity and the feeling of being suspended midair, he’d lost his cool and plunged into the freezing depths of the Atlantic. Fortunately, he was used to this strange experience now… kinda. Or at least accustomed enough to be capable of focusing on his destination, the howling wind and midair suspension slightly easier to ignore. After what seemed like two hours of careful concentration but was actually only several minutes, he felt himself come to a halt, the whooshing around his ears disappearing. He opened his eyes as he gently plopped down onto his feet, staring at the scene before him in bewilderment.</p>
<p>The sun was setting here in Italy, its rays bathing the ancient stone structure in an orange hue. Alex tipped his head to one side as he regained his composure, feeling less winded from this trip than the previous one. He didn’t stop to congratulate himself on the successful transport though, his entire attention pouring into the dilapidated building in front of him. Something about the house looked… different? Why was it in such bad shape? Did his parents not care? Well, jinn were powerful. With the help of several and their powers, the house could be fixed in no time. If worse came to worst, humans were able to build things too, although they lacked the strength and speed of jinn. Alex made his way closer toward it, heart seizing.</p>
<p>A million thoughts flurried through his mind as he neared the entrance; he wasn’t sure what to tell his parents first. He imagined himself running into whatever room his parents were in, to let them know that he was safe now, that he’d managed to finally break free of that curse, that he’d been living with a nice boy (demon) named Jack, that he was part of a band with the awesome Rian and Zack. Maybe the rest of his family could call him “Alex” now too, because that was a cooler name than Aurelius, and perhaps they could move to Baltimore as well so he could show them Jack, Zack, and Rian, and also the school that he’d be attending when fall came, and have them meet Jack’s family, and buy sick clothes, and hear him play with his band, and… and...</p>
<p>Alex was greeted with silence and darkness.</p>
<p>He blinked in the shadows, drinking in the musty odour. Where was everyone?</p>
<p>“I’m home!” he called, stepping forward.</p>
<p>Nobody answered. Maybe they were in the back of the house. </p>
<p>“I’m home!” he tried again, letting his feet carry him further down the corridor. “It’s me, Aurelius!”</p>
<p>Still no response.</p>
<p>By this point, an inkling had formed in the corner of his mind, but he refused to acknowledge it. Jinn had a very long lifespan; besides, there hadn’t been a purge or anything that day. He’d just been in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong mentality; everybody else had known better.</p>
<p>“Hey.. where are you?” His voice wavered at the end as he continued down the hallway, feeling the wall as he walked. “Where--”</p>
<p>Alex suddenly found himself on the ground with a surprised yelp. Dazed, he lay there on the cold, stone floor for a moment before opening his eyes. He pushed himself into a sitting position, wincing at the sharp pain spiking through his palms, forearms, and left knee. What the fuck was <em>that</em>? Ignoring, or at least trying to ignore, the pain, he twisted around to see what he’d tripped on. There, sitting in a patch of sunlight directly behind him, was a large piece of the stone foundation. Alex eyed it for a few seconds, then moved his head up to glance at the ceiling. Well, that explained it; the roof above that chunk of housing was gone, the pinkish evening sky peeking through a hole shaped like that fallen stone. Shaking his head, Alex used some magic to light a torch on the wall so he could examine his injuries. Nothing too bad, thankfully, just some scrapes; he magicked up a few bandages for his palm and arm before hauling himself to his feet. Not wanting to make <em>that </em>mistake again, he lit more torches as he journeyed deeper down the corridor. There had to be <em>somebody </em>here… this place was never left alone…</p>
<p>He kept thinking this as panic started brewing up inside him, quickening his pace. That panic evolved into hysteria when he was met by a dead end, formed by more blocks of house piled on top of each other. He took several steps backward, his eyes unable to look away from those ruins, those ruins growing blurry in his vision.</p>

<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    
  </p>
</div><p> </p>
<p>Alex hadn’t felt this scared in a very long time.</p>
<p>“Hello..?” he tried to shout, but his voice came out tiny and shaky, hot tears pricking his eyes. His breaths became sharper and shorter as he finally managed to tear his gaze away from the crumbled portion of the hallway.</p>
<p>He cried out for his mother, his father, <em>anybody</em>, as he raced back down the direction he’d arrived, the sound of his sneakers hitting the ground echoing off the walls. He wasn’t afraid anymore-- just desperate as he checked all the hallways and rooms that were still accessible, his magic subconsciously lighting torches along the way. As much as he hated most humans still, he’d take one at this point; he only wanted reassurance that he wasn’t the only being in this house, for somebody to be around to fill him in on what had happened all these years since he’d been captured. But in every room, in every corridor, there was nobody. No other jinn, but no humans either.</p>
<p>Alex gave up his search in his favourite room, the one with all the pillows, the one that he’d liked to sleep in, the one that was in the best condition. He dropped to his knees on the pillow-strewn floor, letting the tears fall, the sobs escape his mouth. What was the purpose of only him being alive?? Everybody else was dead! His family, the random houseguests… what had he been expecting? Of course everyone was dead… hundreds of years had passed. Or… maybe that twisted bastard of a human hadn’t had enough with just <em>his </em>capture, and had felt the urge to catch others, too. Either way, everything had gone to shit.</p>
<p>Because he was alone, Alex let himself cry freely, this triggering his powers. Pillows appeared out of thin air, dropping to the floor as he wailed, the torches in the hallways and candles in the room blowing themselves out. He cried and cried for the family and home that he’d lost until the tears wouldn’t form anymore. Then, he leaned forward until his forehead was resting on the pillow beneath him, choking on anguished sobs until those also stopped. Now exhausted, he flopped onto his side, wiping his nose on his arm and blankly staring at the entryway to the room through half-lidded eyes. He began running through the memories of his time here until he fell asleep to the smiles and laughter in his mind.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Jack wondered if Alex was okay. Sure, they’d had a rocky start, but Jack had really grown fond of the moody genie over the last two months. Alex being sick genuinely worried him so that he and Rian had hit up the computer lab at lunch time to look up <em>how to cure a sick genie</em>. The search had yielded no useful results by the time the bell had rang, and Jack had been forced to attend his afternoon classes with no idea on what to do. He sighed, cradling his head in one hand and missing his genie buddy. Some of his classmates seemed to miss Alex too, evident by their whispers of <em>Looks like we don’t have a ghost in the class today</em> and <em>Nothing’s moving in the room yet</em>. Jack couldn’t wait to go home.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Alex opened his eyes, his head feeling heavy. For a split second, he expected Jack to throw a pillow his way and yell at him to wake up before he promptly realized that he was not in Jack’s room. He was at his old house, in the room with all the pillows. Drowsily, he sat up, eyeing the stone walls and the collection of ornate pillows decorating the floor. The rest of his band should see this room… That thought was suddenly knocked out of his mind by the reminder of his dead family. Instantly more awake, Alex staggered up, the pang in his heart returning. He waited for the tears to fall again, but they never did. Sighing, he shuffled out of the room, trudging on autopilot through a series of hallways and numbly re-lighting the torches that he’d accidentally blown out earlier until he found himself at a balcony.</p>
<p>The temperature outside had grown cooler since he’d first arrived at this place, and the sky had shifted from a pinky-orange to pure black with a faint sprinkling of stars here and there. Alex leaned against the ledge, his eyes peering at the constellations above but his brain too distraught to actually identify them. What happened when a jinni died? Where did they go? Was his family happy in the jinn afterlife? He moved his gaze from the twinkling stars to the twinkling city lights in the distance as a soft breeze grazed his hair. The only good thing was that this house was all his now, that he had become its official owner. Clutching Jack’s soul that he still wore as a necklace, he tilted his head back up, closing his eyes and silently vowing to keep these ruins for himself until he also died. Maybe, just maybe, he’d let Jack and the others see it someday…</p>
<p>
  <em>Jack.</em>
</p>
<p>Alex’s eyes flew open as he remembered Jack and school. Momentarily forgetting about his grief, he hurried back inside to the pillow-filled room. Excuses raced through his head as he tried to gather up enough magic to teleport overseas. He was worn out from the crying and frenzied search earlier, but the possibility of not returning in time and Jack finding out about his disappearance was also giving him a sort of adrenaline rush. After one last survey of the room that he’d loved in the past, he shut his eyes, summoning a mental image of Jack’s bedroom. Hopefully, Jack was still in school…</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>The return trip was infinitely harder than the arrival one; Alex was experiencing difficulties focusing. Memories of his old house continuously threatened to overthrow the visual of Jack’s room. Alex clenched his eyes closed tighter, balling his fists as wind shrieked in his ears. How much longer..? Just when he felt as though he absolutely couldn’t handle it anymore, when he was ready to let the other distracting thoughts take over and send him falling into the ocean, he heard a voice faintly calling out to him:</p>
<p>
  <em>Alex! I’m home! </em>
</p>
<p>And there went his concentration. Jack’s room vanished from his mind as his body dropped out of the air.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Jack received no answer. Frowning, he took a step forward, his brain spouting some horrible what-ifs: <em>What if Alex was dead? What if he’d gotten a specific genie disease from trying to live a human lifestyle? What if-- </em>A loud <em>thud</em> thankfully cut off these morbid musings; Jack jumped at the noise, which seemed to have originated from… his bedroom?! <em>Alex! </em>The genie’s wellbeing was his sole focus as he ran to his room, heart lurching at the sight of his friend collapsed on the floor next to his bed.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>“Alex!”</p>
<p>The jinni stirred, but did not open his eyes. He was in pain… both physically and emotionally.</p>
<p>“Shit, dude, wake up!”</p>
<p>Jack had found him. Of course.</p>
<p>“Alex… hey… wake up…”</p>
<p>Something cool and smooth stroked his cheek, followed by something freezing clapping his shoulder. Alex was immediately alert, eyes popping open at the unexpected contact, a short gasp escaping his mouth. Instinctively, he shoved Jack away, drawing himself up into a defensive stance.</p>
<p>“Alex, buddy, calm down,” Jack said from the floor, holding his hands up. “It’s just me.”</p>
<p>It took Alex a moment to register the sight of Jack before him, easing his scowl and furled fists as he did so. “Sorry,” he said, shaking his head and standing up straighter. His head felt foggy, his eyes seeing Jack but also not seeing him at the same time.</p>
<p>Jack rose, trailing a line down Alex’s cheek once more before tucking his tail back under his shirt. The other blinked, but said nothing. “Yo, are you okay?” he asked worriedly, placing his hands on Alex’s shoulders and looking into the genie’s eyes. “Should I call my mom to take you to the hospital?”</p>
<p>Alex stared back into Jack’s eyes, images of his ruined old house flashing in his mind. “I’m fine,” he managed, albeit slightly shakily.</p>
<p>“You don’t <em>look</em> fine,” Jack said, brows furrowing. He pushed his friend down on his bed. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”</p>
<p>Alex didn’t find that very funny.</p>
<p>“No, man, I’m serious,” Jack sat down beside him. “I’m really worried about you.” The incubus actually was; he’d stopped by a pharmacy on the way home to ask if over-the-counter cold and flu medications would work on something “not human”. The pharmacist had instead kindly referred him to a vet, forcing Jack to leave empty-handed.</p>
<p>Alex eyed a spot on Jack’s floor, a mental slideshow of his home’s now-uninhabitable rooms playing. “I’m fine,” he deadpanned.</p>
<p>“I still think you need to go to the hospital,” Jack said a bit more firmly, scooting closer to Alex and putting a hand on the other boy’s shoulder. “You’re, like, human enough. Nobody will be able to tell.”</p>
<p>Alex knocked Jack’s hand away, irritation stabbing through the memories and tearing them apart. Normally, he found Jack’s chilly touches comforting, but today, the demon’s hand was sending hot sparks through his body. “No,” he said sharply, glaring at Jack. “I don’t even have a health card.”</p>
<p>“Oh.” Jack’s face fell, his widened eyes drooping.</p>
<p>At seeing Jack’s now-crestfallen expression, Alex suddenly felt bad about snapping at him like that. The other teen had only been trying to help. The jinni sighed. “Sorry. I’m fine. Let’s… just go to Rian’s.”</p>
<p>“Nah,” Jack shook his head. “I told him you’re sick so he cancelled practice. We can’t do anything without our singer.”</p>
<p>Annoyance pricked Alex’s insides, but he made his best attempt at not letting it show. “Well, I’m not <em>that </em>sick so call Rian and let’s go.” He reached over to grab Jack’s wrist and yank the incubus up into a standing position; however, Jack refused to budge, only narrowing his eyes.</p>
<p>“What happened to your arm?” Jack questioned, leaning closer toward him. </p>
<p>His inquiry caught Alex off-guard. “My..?” </p>
<p>“All those bandages,” Jack said with a nod. </p>
<p>“The?” Alex followed Jack’s gaze, noticing the bandages still stuck to his arm and palm.</p>
<p>
  <em> Fuck! </em>
</p>
<p>He couldn’t tell Jack about the ruins of his home; although he liked Jack, he still couldn’t fully trust the demon. Not that Jack was a <em> bad </em> demon per se, but the guy was a bit too rambunctious sometimes. Alex could easily see him initiating a game of game of cops and robbers or hide and seek with their other two bandmates and using the fallen parts of the house as hiding spots. <em> Or </em>he’d run wild in the pillow-strewn room, shouting and trampling over the pillows if he didn’t start a pillow fight first. No, Alex wouldn’t have that. Even though it was barely a house now, it still deserved respect.</p>
<p>“Did you slip in the shower or what?” Jack prompted, his tone half-teasing, half-serious. </p>
<p>“Uhh… I…” Alex searched his brain for a reasonable lie as his eyes searched Jack’s room for a helpful cue.</p>
<p>“I mean, if you were beating it and lost your balance--”</p>
<p>“Shut up!” Alex shot Jack a dirty look, the perfect lie springing up in his head. “It was a bike.” </p>
<p>“A bike?” Jack did a double-take. “What? Did it attack you or something?” </p>
<p>“No, I… uh… fell off,” Alex said, studying his bandages as he spoke. “I got bored, okay? I tried to teach myself how to ride a bike, but… it’s hard.” </p>
<p>“Well, no kidding,” Jack chuckled. “I could teach you right now on <em> my </em>bike, if you want.”</p>
<p>Fuck. Alex was trapped in this lie now. He didn’t care to actually learn how to ride Jack’s bike; he had his own mode of transportation, one that was way faster and easier than <em>riding a bike. </em>He shook his head, giving Jack a small shove. “No, let’s go to Rian’s.”</p>
<p>“I can teach you on the way to Rian’s!” Jack’s eyes lit up as he rose. </p>
<p>Alex frowned. “Maybe some other time when I’m feeling better.” </p>
<p>“Oh, yeah… you’re sick.” Jack blinked. “Are you sure you wanna go to Rian’s, then?”</p>
<p>Alex felt his hands twitch into fists. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath because he knew better than to fight Jack in the incubus’ own house. That would be stupid… and result in him getting kicked out. “<em> Yes </em>,” he said slowly, exhaling. “It’ll be a good distraction.” </p>
<p>“Okay… if you say so,” Jack said after a moment’s hesitation from analyzing Alex’s body language, pulling out his phone to call Rian.</p>
<p>Alex couldn’t wait to leave the house.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>“Are you <em> sure </em>you don’t want to learn how to ride my bike?” Jack asked once the two were outside. </p>
<p>“Well, I can’t play guitar if I break my arm or something along the way,” Alex said exasperatedly, crossing his arms over his chest and glowering at the bike that was beginning to cause him some grief.  </p>
<p>“That’s not gonna happen!” Jack insisted. “I’ll catch you if you fall.” </p>
<p>“Sit,” Alex pointed at the bike seat, brows pinched. </p>
<p>“You’re missing out, man,” Jack told him, hopping on the bike. “We can’t do this forever. What if I’m gone one day and you need to go to the other side of the town or something? You can’t just walk there ‘cause that’ll take, like, two hours. And you don’t know how to take the bus.”</p>
<p>“One, you’ll probably have a car soon, and two, I used to walk everywhere back in the day,” Alex took up his usual position behind Jack, grasping the demon’s shoulders. He was aware that he was being snarky, but he didn’t care. Jack was really testing his patience today. </p>
<p>“No, I have to wait two more years to get my license” Jack said over his shoulder as he started pedalling. “Also, this isn’t the fifth century anymore where everything was really small and, like, two minutes away.” </p>
<p>“Okay, fuck, did you forget that I can teleport?” Alex retorted, gripping Jack’s shoulders more tightly. </p>
<p>“Oh, <em>yeah</em>… you <em>can</em>,” Jack slowed down, making Alex frown.</p>
<p>“Dude, why are you stopping?”</p>
<p>“Can you teleport us to Rian’s house?” Jack asked excitedly, pulling over. </p>
<p>“Huh?” Alex was surprised a second time in the past hour. </p>
<p>“I mean, if it’s possible,” Jack dropped his gaze to the road below; Alex still caught the sparkle in his eyes, though. </p>
<p>“Uhh,” the jinni was hit by a flashback of his teleportation trip: the roaring wind, the floating, the intense concentration required… “It is, but… it’s hard.” </p>
<p>“Ah, okay.” Jack picked up where he left off with pedalling. </p>
<p>“Maybe on the way back.” Alex said, closing his eyes and relishing the cool breeze on his face, a memory of standing on the ancient stone balcony coming to mind. He neither was in the mood nor had the energy to attempt teleporting beyond 20 metres.  </p>
<p>“Okay!” Jack chirped, speeding up.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>“Rian! Rian, let us in!” Jack shouted, pounding on the door with both fists. Alex ignored him, instead staring at the houses across the street, the said-houses constantly shifting from modern-day architecture to old stone structures in his melancholic state. He tried to clear his head when he heard the door finally open, followed by Rian’s semi-annoyed voice:</p>
<p>“Jack, shut up and just come in.”</p>
<p>“Hey, man!” Jack led the way inside. </p>
<p>“Hey,” Alex said, barely glancing Rian’s way as he tailed Jack down into the basement. </p>
<p>“Alex, you sure you’re feeling alright?” Rian questioned, bringing up the rear. “Zack’s already here,” he added, calling ahead to Jack. </p>
<p>If Alex had felt sly faking sickness before, he sure didn’t now. “I’m fine,” he said briskly, wishing that everyone would quit caring about his “illness”. </p>
<p>“Heya, Zacky!” Jack greeted their other friend, who was sitting on the couch watching them proceed down the stairs.</p>
<p>Alex barely said hi to Zack as his mind clouded over with unwarranted memories once again, his feet taking him straight to the sofa rather than the corner where they kept their instruments. The other three immediately noticed this, and Zack slid over to give Alex more room.</p>
<p>“Uh, he’ll probably join us when he’s ready,” Rian told Jack, side-eyeing Alex’s forlorn form on the couch. “Let’s set up.”</p>
<p>Jack was torn for a moment between wanting to ask Alex what was wrong and assisting Rian with preparing their practice space, but eventually chose the latter option, shooting Alex a concerned look before crossing over to where Rian was. Zack, however, stayed where he was, observing both his friends’ physical movements as well as their thoughts. He normally preferred to tune out his buddies’ thoughts, but something felt a bit… off today, piquing his curiosity. Zack zoned in on them individually in turn:</p>
<p>Rian, taking a seat behind his drum set, was contemplating when to order pizza. Zack saw disjointed images of a pizza box on the table and a clock on the wall alongside time calculations. </p>
<p>Jack, plugging in his guitar, was replaying an incident that had happened to him earlier in the day. Zack found himself seeing the event from Jack’s perspective: the pharmacist behind the counter gently told him that a vet might be more helpful in this situation.</p>
<p>Alex, blankly gazing at the wall, had an entire slideshow of memories running through his head. Zack wrinkled his brows as he focused as best as he could, which proved to be difficult when Jack suddenly started pondering when he was going to jerk off next. Zack screwed his eyes shut, wanting the visual of Jack touching his dick out of his mind. Thankfully, that musing didn’t last very long as homemade sloppy joes entered Jack’s brain instead. <em>Now </em>Zack could really hone in on Alex’s memories. A bit grainy and unclear, but there they were:</p>
<p>Young Alex running down a corridor with stone walls… but something was… not quite right about little Alex. Zack had no time for further analysis as he was suddenly thrown into Alex’s viewpoint, and was staring up at… what in the fuck was <em>that</em>?! Approximately 10 ft. tall with four arms, grey skin, angular eyes, and just a manila-coloured cloth wrapped around its waist. Alex’s voice rang in his ears, inquisitive and laced with passion, burning with an unadulterated thirst for knowledge.</p>
<p>And then he was sitting against the wall, a scroll in his hands. A faint shout in the distance made him look up from what he’d been reading. He found himself facing a bearded man, could feel a prick of fear, but chose not to move. The man flourished a blue vase? Bottle? of some sort, and Zack, as Alex, didn’t think about escaping, entranced by that dark-blue object. The stranger took a step closer, trapping him against the wall, and that shot of fear from earlier now flared through his whole body, freezing his limbs and mind. A string of gibberish was spoken by the other fellow, blowing out this particular memory. </p>
<p>There was darkness now, no candles or torches to light the area up. He was in the bottle. He closed his eyes, waiting for, desperately hoping for, someone to save him.</p>
<p>The world was shaking; no, it was the bottle shaking. And then he was outside, a cloud of smoke dissipating around him. Three sets of curious eyes met his own, three young men, one of whom demanded to know what was going on and who he was. Their clothes were different from what he wore… where was he? The guy asked for his name. Zack felt his eyes widen slightly at <em>Aurelius. </em>Not “Alex” after all? <em>A jinni</em>, he told the trio, receiving lukewarm reception. Of course, they didn’t understand, only talking amongst themselves and bombarding him with questions. <em>Why was he dressed like this? How did he fit in that bottle? Could he go back into the bottle? </em>He didn’t know how to answer any of these, only stiffening when one of the boys poked his arm. The teens exchanged uncertain glances with each other, shrugging, and then he saw them walking away. Fear filled him, because he was in an unfamiliar grassy field, because he didn’t know anyone, because his family wasn’t there. He began absentmindedly following them, coming to a halt when one of them said to his buddies: <em>I wish I was rich so I don’t have to work this hard. </em>His power then swiftly blazed through his body, and before he could stop it, a giant, heavy burlap sack fell from the air, landing directly in front of the group. They studied this surprise for a moment before turning their gazes to each other, and eventually to him.</p>
<p>He was in a corner of some house now, cowering as a tall stranger ominously loomed over him. Only one wish to go, one more… He cried out when the man roughly grabbed him by his hair, all the while yelling curses and derogatory words, a heel putting out a cigarette on the ground.</p>
<p>A slice of darkness, and he was in a different home now, arms outstretched to his sides, bright flames hovering over both palms and lighting up the dark room. The family stood before him, quivering, the mother holding her frightened youngest close to her, the child’s face buried in her skirt. Humans could not touch him, would never be more powerful than him. He was a jinni.</p>
<p>Now, he was in a familiar room… Jack’s bedroom! And there Jack was, sitting on the bed, staring at him in shock. This stupid-looking, bespectacled lanky kid with uneven blonde patches in his dark hair. He already knew what this boy was going to wish for. It would be quick, a snap of his fingers three times, and he would be gone, like a candle blown out before bedtime. </p>
<p>He was still in Jack’s room, although Jack had disappeared. He was just standing there in the middle of the room… and suddenly, he was gone too, now in front of a… weathered, old stone building? It was dark inside save for the occasional torches lining the walls… and he was on the ground for a second before a pile of the crumbled infrastructure entered his vision. He was then everywhere, in every hallway and in every room, panicking. He wound up in a large room littered with pillows on the floor before finding himself on a balcony, looking up at the night sky above. Zack let out a small, inaudible gasp as it clicked, that--</p>
<p>
  <em>This must be Alex’s home.</em>
</p>
<p>A voice cut through Alex’s memories, tearing the reminiscing in half. Who dared to intrude his thoughts, his privacy? His pupils narrowed into slits, simultaneously seeing but not seeing Zack’s face, as one side of his lip curled up, exposing a fang. It was an expression that Jack knew well… if only he had actually noticed. His eyes were on Alex albeit blank, his torso slouching as a thin black tail slipped out from under his shirt.</p>
<p>Rian didn’t like where this was going. The fairy and genie locking eyes, the demon ready to join the fray, the air thick with a strange sort of tension that made the hair on his arms stand on end. It was during a moment like this that he wished that he wasn’t the only human, or that they were all humans, because he couldn’t lie: he sometimes feared that his friends would lose control over their powers and end up rampaging the city. He had to stay calm though; one wrong move and he knew that somebody would snap. Jack would probably be the easiest to bring out of a trance. Luckily, before he could tap Jack’s shoulder, a cushion dropped out of nowhere, landing on the incubus' head and effectively ending his daze. Rian felt the knot in his chest dissolve as Jack shook his head, frowning.</p>
<p>“What the..?” he peered at Rian, blinking. </p>
<p>“Don’t tell me you have some kind of demon disease,” Rian said, wearily joking. </p>
<p>“Why would I?” Jack tipped his head to one side.</p>
<p>Rian gestured to Zack and Alex, the relief that he was now experiencing over Jack having returned to his senses unexplainable.</p>
<p>Jack followed his motion. “What are they doing? Having a staring contest?” </p>
<p>“No, I think they’re losing control over their powers. Have you noticed how weird the air feels right now? It’s like… an electric current running through this room.”</p>
<p>“Uh, not really,” Jack bent over to retrieve the cushion of mysterious origin. “Hey, what’s this? Why did you throw it at me?” </p>
<p>Rian side-eyed him. “I didn’t. It was probably Alex making random shit appear again. Jack, we need to find a way to carefully bring them out of--”</p>
<p>“That fucker!” Jack cut him off, giving the cushion a squeeze before chucking it at Alex’s head.</p>
<p>“Jack!” Rian said sharply, getting to his feet. </p>
<p>Something smacked the side of Alex’s head, dispersing the anger and hatred that had been welling up inside him. He was seeing Zack’s face again, not any of his previous captors. He was in Rian’s basement again, not in that bottle. His eyes briefly flicked to the ornate pillow on the floor by his feet.</p>
<p>“Hey!” a familiar voice shouted, making both Alex and Zack swivel toward it.</p>
<p>It was Jack. The demon was standing in their practice corner with his hands on his hips, brows pinched and tail swishing. Beside him stood Rian, holding his drumsticks in one hand.</p>
<p>“You guys done with your staring contest?” Jack questioned. “We’re getting lonely over here.” </p>
<p>“Zack, are you sure that you don’t have some kind of fairy flu?” Rian added. </p>
<p>“What? No, of course not,” Zack said in his usual mellow tone, crossing over to join them.</p>
<p>This left just Alex on the couch, disoriented from his flashbacks. Rian’s walls strangely resembled those of his old home, cracked stone rather than painted wood.</p>
<p>“Yo, Alex!” Jack’s voice rang hollow in his ears. “Get your ass over here!”</p>
<p>He tried, trudging over to his buddies on autopilot. He didn’t even feel their eyes drilling through him as he pushed past Jack to grab his guitar. He was shaken out of his numb state by a warm hand on his arm. Blinking away the remnants of the stone walls and floor from his sight, he faced the source of the contact.</p>
<p>“Dude, you really don’t look that good,” Rian shook his head. “I’m calling practice off. You should go home.” </p>
<p>“No, I’m fine,” Alex insisted, because he really was. He was seeing Rian and the basement now, not the interior of his old house. </p>
<p>“No.” Rian’s grip tightened. “Go home with Jack. Zack, let’s go.” He gestured with his head to the door leading upstairs. </p>
<p>“Yeah, Alex, let’s go,” Jack said, gently taking the guitar out of Alex’s hands. </p>
<p>“We’ll meet back here tomorrow if you’re feeling better,” Rian said, letting go of Alex’s arm.</p>
<p>The jinni didn’t know what to say as the four of them exited Rian’s basement, Jack’s hands on his shoulders, the demon guiding him as Rian set the pace and Zack brought up the rear. He glanced back at their abandoned practice area, confused. They stopped just outside of Rian’s house, where Jack had propped his bike against the exterior siding.</p>
<p>“Hope you feel better tomorrow,” Zack said sympathetically to Alex, who frowned. </p>
<p>“Yeah, let us know how you’re feeling,” Rian put in. “See you guys tomorrow, hopefully.” And with a wave, he and Zack slipped back into the house. </p>
<p>“I’m not sick,” Alex narrowed his eyes at Rian’s closed door, crossing his arms over his chest.</p>
<p>“You aren’t?” Jack said in surprise, eyes widening. “Do you feel better now?” </p>
<p>“I wasn’t even sick to begin with,” Alex turned to the incubus, who was gaping at him, pupils blown wide.</p>
<p>“Wait… but you… what? Didn’t you say you were sick?”</p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p>“This morning…”</p>
<p>“What about it?” </p>
<p>“You told my mom that you were sick!”</p>
<p>“Did I?” Alex ran through memories of the day, memories that were blurring together with his ill-fated trip to Italy ones.</p>
<p>“Yes! You told my mom that you were too sick to go to school, and she let you stay at home and made me go to school without you, and then I got home and saw you passed out or something on the ground, and I wanted to go to the hospital and--”</p>
<p>“Shit.” It hit Alex then, suddenly like the pillow that Jack had thrown at his head about half an hour prior.  </p>
<p>“What?” Jack’s face was now right up against his. “You lying, man? Did you just make an excuse to get out of school?”</p>
<p>“No, it’s not like that,” Alex took a step back, reeling from the effects of getting caught in a lie. And by Jack too, of all people. “It’s…” he trailed off, no good purposes coming to mind. </p>
<p>“You could’ve just asked to stay at home, you know. You’re not a real student yet, anyway. Alex, you’re such a dumbass.” Jack rolled his eyes.</p>
<p>Normally, Alex would snap back at being called a <em> dumbass </em>, but perhaps Jack was right today. “Whatever,” he said quickly, reaching for Jack’s bike. “Let’s go.” </p>
<p>“Well, I mean, if you’re not really sick, then maybe we can go back inside?” Jack gestured with his thumb in the direction of Rian’s door. </p>
<p>Alex immediately saw Rian’s disappointed face in his mind. He sure wasn’t up for dealing with their “dad friend”’s lecture to follow. “No, let’s just go home. Come on.” </p>
<p>Jack responded by grabbing his arm, ice slapping his skin. “Dude! Teleportation, remember?”</p>
<p>Alex stared at Jack’s sparkling eyes and large grin, and knew instantly that he shouldn’t, that he couldn’t. “No, dude, not right now. I don’t have the energy for that.”   </p>
<p>“Oh.” Jack’s hands left his arm as quickly as they had latched on, the demon’s facial expression dropping with those hands.</p>
<p>A twinge of pain pinched Alex’s heart at the sight of Jack’s crestfallen face. “Jack…” he started as the incubus swiftly turned away from him to reach for the bike leaning against the siding.</p>
<p>“Well, hop on,” Jack said in a cheery tone that Alex instantly recognized as fake as the boy wheeled his bike over. </p>
<p>The jinni watched, unblinking, as Jack seated himself on the bike. </p>
<p>“Come on,” Jack gestured backward with both his head and a flick of his thumb.</p>
<p>Alex couldn’t bring himself to say anything as he took up his normal position behind Jack, planting his feet on the metal rod sticking through the bike’s back wheel and placing his hands on his friend’s shoulders.</p>
<p>“Ready?” Jack said over his shoulder. He no longer seemed disappointed, to Alex’s relief. </p>
<p>Pride still holding his voice hostage, Alex just nodded, tightening his hold on Jack. </p>
<p>“Alright! Here we go!” Jack’s tone shot up in volume as he returned to his usual self. And then they were off.</p>
<p>It took several minutes of solely observing the trees, streetlights, and houses flurrying by before Alex could speak:</p>
<p>“Hey, Jack?”</p>
<p>“Yeah?” Jack didn’t look at him, only increasing his speed. </p>
<p>Alex gripped the demon’s shoulders more, leaning forward so that his mouth was closer to Jack’s ear. “You wanna teleport?”</p>
<p>The bike immediately slowed to a stop. “Really??” Jack swivelled his head in Alex’s direction. </p>
<p>Alex nodded, unable to stop the hint of a smile forming on his lips at seeing the stars twinkling in Jack’s dark eyes. “We’re almost home, right?” his voice came out as soft as the smile on his face.</p>
<p>“Yeah!”</p>
<p>“Okay, then let’s try.” Alex stepped off the bike, Jack following suit. After a split second of seeing an image of the bike abandoned on the middle of the road, Alex decided to change his mind. “Actually, Jack, let’s go home and drop off your bike first. And then we can come back here.” </p>
<p>“Oh. Okay,” Jack sat back down. Alex rejoined him, and they rode the rest of the way to the incubus’ house in silence. Although the air around them was charged with energy, it wasn’t uncomfortable. They were sparks of excitement, powering the movement to Jack’s house. </p>
<p>Once there, Alex waited rather impatiently as Jack stowed his bike away. For some reason, the jinni was sort of eager? What annoyances he had before at having to entertain Jack were now gone, as was most of his fatigue. Instead, he found himself feeling thrilled at the prospect of showing his best friend (?) one of his powers. “Alright,” he said, clapping his hands together when Jack returned to him. “Let’s go back to that place and do this shit.” </p>
<p>“Can’t we just teleport from here to my room?” Jack asked, glancing at the house. </p>
<p>Alex narrowed his eyes. “What are you gonna tell your mom when we just suddenly appear in the house out of nowhere without walking through the door?” And the irritation was back, tinting the previously pure enthusiasm.</p>
<p>“Oh.”</p>
<p>“So, let’s go,” Alex spun away from Jack and began speedwalking down the street. </p>
<p>“Alex! Alex, wait for me!” he heard Jack call from behind him. Sighing, he slowed his pace to let the demon catch up. As soon as the other was beside him, he launched into an explanation to prevent more stupid questions from arising: </p>
<p>“Okay, so we’re gonna teleport from that point-” he pointed to the horizon “- to your front lawn. Got it?”</p>
<p>“Oh. Yeah,” Jack said with a nod, and Alex quickened his steps again until they reached their desired starting point. </p>
<p>“All clear?” Alex surveyed their surroundings. Houses left and right, parked cars, trees casting long shadows. No people. </p>
<p>“I think?” Jack was huffing because, although he was no longer human, he still wasn’t an athlete. He was not inspecting the space around them. </p>
<p>“Okay.” Alex straightened up, offering a hand to Jack.</p>
<p>Unexpectedly, the other teen readily accepted his outstretched hand. Alex had been preparing to be met with confusion or disgust. He knew the surprise on his face was visible as he regarded Jack, who merely gave him a small smile. Alex was suddenly very grateful for Jack’s icy hand freezing his body temperature at its current level. Unable to continue making eye contact with Jack, the jinni sharply turned his head away and started talking to a nearby streetlamp:</p>
<p>“Okay, so you have to hold on the whole time. <em>Don’t </em>let go of my hand.”</p>
<p>“Why?” Jack squeezed his hand, that cheeky bitch. </p>
<p>It took Alex a great amount of willpower to resist yanking his hand away from Jack’s. “Because you’ll fall, you idiot,” he glowered at the incubus, who seemed as if he were lost in thought. </p>
<p>“Fall?” Jack blinked. </p>
<p>Alex had to close his eyes for a couple of seconds. Rationally, he knew that Jack’s reactions were understandable, but the anxiousness of possibly getting caught was pricking his nerves. “Alright,” he said, returning his focus back to Jack, “here’s how teleportation works. We travel through the air at really fast speeds, which is why <em> you can’t let go. </em>Unless you want to fall,” he ended with a shrug. </p>
<p>“Really?” Jack shuffled closer to him, leaning toward him. “Is it scary?” </p>
<p>“Kinda, yeah, at first.” Alex was shifty-eyed now. They needed to <em> hurry. Jack, shut up, </em>he thought. “Just hold on and you’ll be fine.” </p>
<p>“Okay!” Jack chirped, and Alex took that as a go-ahead signal.</p>
<p>Shutting his eyes again, he conjured up an image of Jack’s front lawn behind his eyelids, trying his best to ignore the demon’s arm brushing against his own. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Alex allowed his power to surge through his body, fire burning through his veins. Gripping Jack’s hand more roughly, that heat rose them up, fueling the beginning of the teleportation process. Unfortunately, a couple of seconds later, a panicked cry, followed by ice gripping Alex’s torso, shattered the visual of Jack’s yard into smithereens. The jinni’s eyes instantly popped open, and quicker than the millisecond that passed before the transition from suspension to dropping, his brain shot into action. In a flash, he wrapped his arms around Jack, holding his friend close, before shifting his position.</p>
<p>The fall happened fast, demon dragging demon </p>
<p>down,</p>
<p>down,</p>
<p>down.</p>
<p>Ice enveloping fire, freezing the flame in place. It was then that Alex realized just how powerful a demon could be, and that a fellow demon could be just as powerless as a human while being pulled down to their demise. Truly, death came for all. Anybody could be afraid of darkness. But Alex embraced it, clutching tighter. </p>
<p><em>Thud! </em>His back made contact with something hard, his consciousness letting him go, letting Jack go, into the void.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Alex!” A troubled voice slashed through the black. Or, maybe it was just his eyelids opening.</p>
<p>A blurry figure was the focal point of his view. His entire body hurt.</p>
<p>“Thank fuck!” it was that voice again. A jinni?</p>
<p>Instantly, Alex’s eyes shot open, his heart seizing up.</p>
<p>No.</p>
<p>It was a demon, but not a jinni, with black wings and a matching long tail crouching before him, curved horns preventing shaggy dark hair with light patches from falling into his eyes. Alex suddenly became aware of the cold sensation radiating from his shoulder area.</p>
<p>“Alex, are you okay?” The demon was frowning, worry evident in his large eyes.</p>
<p>Alex’s body felt heavy, weighed down by both pain and his emerging consciousness. He groaned, attempting to change his position.</p>
<p>The ice on his shoulder tightened. “Should I get my mom?”</p>
<p>Those five words pierced through the fog, splintering it to allow his awareness to come through. “Jack!” he found his own voice, albeit unsteady.</p>
<p>Jack looked taken aback, eyes widening. The frost covering Alex’s shoulder melted as the incubus pulled his hand away.</p>
<p>The pain was crippling, but Alex’s wits were unbound by it. “Put your… put your wings away…” </p>
<p>Jack glanced over his shoulder, those sleek, dark wings twitching once. “It could be a costume.”</p>
<p>Alex’s gaze moved from Jack’s wings to his arm. “Jack… you’re bleeding…”</p>
<p>Jack didn’t even spare his own arm a look. “Yeah, but so are you. I’m gonna call Rian, okay? Hang tight.”</p>
<p>“Don’t.” Taking a deep breath, Alex forced himself into a sitting posture, wincing as he did so. He couldn’t tell which was worse-- the sting of cement burns up his arm or the pulsing in his upper back. Hopefully, nothing was broken. “Rian will…” he trailed off at seeing the crimson marking his forearm. “We’re gonna get in big shit.” </p>
<p>“We’re already gonna be in big shit when my mom sees us come in like this,” Jack sounded frazzled, enveloping Alex in his wings. “Please let me call Rian.” </p>
<p>“What’s Rian gonna do?” Alex closed his eyes, wishing that the pain would just disappear.</p>
<p>“I don’t know. Tell us that we didn’t break anything?”</p>
<p>Alex didn’t reply, only trying his best to bring up an image of a bottle of water and painkillers to his mind. He didn’t feel as though he had much magic left at the moment, but it was worth a shot.</p>
<p>“Oh.” The clatter of something small and plastic hitting the tarmac, followed by the <em>smack! </em>of a heavier object, accompanied Jack’s surprised <em>Oh. </em></p>
<p>Alex opened his eyes in time to see Jack retrieve the tiny bottle of painkillers and unscrew the cap.</p>
<p>“Here.” The demon passed him the pills before working on opening the water bottle.  </p>
<p>Alex had never been so thrilled to see painkillers before. “Thanks.” </p>
<p>Jack watched him pop a couple of tablets. “Are you sure I shouldn’t call Rian?”</p>
<p>The jinni shook his head. “Just fucking put your wings away, man.”</p>
<p>“No.”</p>
<p>It seemed as though Alex had no choice. Although using even a fraction of his power to make those meds and water appear had drained him, Jack was being stupid. A few seconds later, a cloak dropped out of the air, along with a couple packs of bandages. Alex’s head now felt fuzzy as he grabbed the bandages. “Give me your arm.”</p>
<p>Jack wordlessly obeyed, outstretching his wounded arm. Alex felt a twinge of guilt at the sight of Jack’s skin marred by blood. “Are you in pain?” he asked the demon softly. </p>
<p>“Not really.” Jack reached down for the other pack of bandages. </p>
<p>Alex knew that he was lying. They’d landed on a car, for fuck’s sakes! He didn’t get the time to question Jack though before the incubus placed a large bandage above his eye. It hit him then that he had been bleeding, the shock subsiding. “It’s okay, I got it,” he said, swatting Jack’s hands away from his own arm. Ignoring the stinging and throbbing as much as he could, Alex patched up his arm before throwing the cloak over his friend’s shoulders.</p>
<p>“Alex?”</p>
<p>“I said to hide your wings, but you won’t, so.” He fastened the string of the cloak with aching arms. “Now, put your hood up.”</p>
<p>Jack dipped his head, drawing up the hood of the cloak and effectively hiding his horns. Well, the shape of the horns and wings were still visible underneath the cloak, but at least both parts weren’t out in the open anymore. Newborn demons were so careless about their identities sometimes.</p>
<p>“Okay, now let’s go home.”</p>
<p>“But… we look all bloody and stuff..?” Jack frowned. </p>
<p>“We’re just gonna have to pretend that we were roughhousing at Rian’s.” Alex tried to push himself up. “We can’t sit around here anymore.” </p>
<p>“Oh.” In a couple of seconds, Jack was on his feet and offering a hand to Alex.</p>
<p>Alex let Jack help him up, crying out once in the process.</p>
<p>“Alex! Are you okay?” Jack looked more pained than he felt, gripping Alex’s hand more tightly. </p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m fine.” The jinni wrenched his hand free from Jack’s hold, opting to grab the incubus’ wrist instead. “Let’s go.”</p>
<p>The diminutive blood spatters littering the gravel next to that damned random car didn’t cross either demon’s mind as they made their way out of that back alley to Jack’s house. Jack gave out a startled yelp a three minutes’ walk away from his home as a sudden gust of wind blew, scrambling to singlehandedly keep his cloak on as the breeze threatened to knock his hood down. Alex whipped around at the sound of his buddy’s distress, squeezing Jack’s wrist. </p>
<p>“What, Jack?”</p>
<p>“Nothing,” Jack pulled the hood down again, partially shielding his eyes.</p>
<p>Rolling his eyes, Alex continued leading them, the pain now marginally easier to tolerate. Well, that probably meant that he hadn’t broken anything in the fall. Still, he had never felt this relieved to see Jack’s house-- a feeling that the him of just a couple months’ ago could have never fathomed-- as the crunching of tiny stones under their feet ceased with the transition from unpaved to paved street. He also realized then that he was still hanging onto Jack’s wrist. “Sorry,” he said over his shoulder, finally releasing the incubus from his control. </p>
<p>“It’s… fine.” Jack’s voice had a strange tone to it, a hint of some kind of shaky uncertainty, not that Alex noticed in his excitement to head inside.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Luckily, Jack’s parents hadn’t detected anything off about the “roughousing-gone-slightly-out-of-control-at-Rian’s” story after the boys had cleaned their wounds, changed their dressings, and joined the rest of the family for supper. It was nighttime now, and Alex was having trouble sleeping. This was not due to pain-- the painkillers had eventually kicked in, and he wasn’t feeling <em>as </em>bad as before. It was due to the memories. The images of his abandoned old house were running rampant in his head again after having been repressed for a few hours from the freak teleportation accident. All he could see behind his closed eyelids were snapshots of the rubble and cracks and gaps and empty hallways. Giving up on sleep, Alex sat up in his bed, staring out the window.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, Jack was also experiencing a sleepless night. Hearing the faint rustling coming from the other bed, he rolled over, opening his eyes. “Alex?” he murmured into the darkness. However, he received no reply. </p>
<p>Jack squinted; he could make out the shape of Alex’s sitting form, but that was about it. “Alex, what are you doing?” he tried again.</p>
<p>Still no response.</p>
<p>Immediately, Jack was over there, by Alex’s side. “Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked, scooting closer, but knowing better than to lay a hand on the genie. </p>
<p>“Nothing.” Alex’s voice came out slightly hoarse. </p>
<p>Jack didn’t believe this. In his usual act-before-think manner that sometimes pissed Alex off, he leaned against the other, relishing the warmth. “Hey.”</p>
<p>Alex didn’t answer, but didn’t push him away either, only remained sitting with his head now facing downward.</p>
<p>“You’re not alone anymore, you know?” Had it not been the middle of the night, Jack would have recognized that he was taking a big risk by saying this, but at 3:33 in the morning, rationality did not exist. “I’m here, Alex,” he threw his arms around his friend. “So is my family. And Rian and Zack. I don’t know where you came from before, but.” Jack found himself lost for words as Alex stirred beneath him. </p>
<p>“Jack,” Alex said more clearly, twisting his head to vaguely look at the one he had created. “Can I tell you something?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, of course!” Although Alex couldn’t see Jack’s individual facial features, it didn’t need to be sunrise for him to know that the incubus was smiling.</p>
<p>The jinni opened his mouth to tell Jack about his origin, but just as quickly shut it again as distrust suddenly poked its way into his mind and body like the claws of a monster sinking into his skin.</p>
<p>He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t let his vulnerability bleed out for the demon to prey on.</p>
<p>Shaking his head, he said instead: “Wanna just lay here with me for a bit?”</p>
<p>“Oh.” Jack sounded astonished, pulling away from him just a bit. “Okay.” </p>
<p>“Lay with me, Jack. Keep me cool.” Shaking Jack away completely, Alex resumed laying down, sliding over to allow more room in his tiny bed. </p>
<p>“O-Okay.” It took a moment’s hesitation before Jack was resting next to him. </p>
<p>“Wrap your arms around me if you want some warmth,” he muttered, turning away from Jack and closing his eyes, subsequently viewing an image of his old balcony doused in the fiery orange of the setting sun. </p>
<p>Jack instantly obliged, the coldness dulling the intensity of Alex’s flashbacks.</p>
<p>Of course, Alex felt bad for keeping such a huge secret from Jack, but he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t tell the incubus about his house in Italy.</p>
<p>On the other hand, Jack couldn’t say anything about Alex withholding facts from him as more than just the genie’s heat was scorching his cheeks.</p>
<p>Actually, there was one more thing that Alex had found out today but couldn’t mention to Jack-- or, at least, not yet.</p>
<p>Home was where the heart was, regardless of the people living in it.</p>
<p>Although Alex was certain that he would never be able to visit his old residence again, that last flight home had cemented the notion that perhaps his true home was here, with Jack. Maybe he didn’t have to go there again.</p>
<p>Except that he would.</p>
<p>Alex had no idea that, 10 years from now, he would be bringing Jack to his ruins after a nasty fight in an elevator, had no clue that Jack would be sleeping with him in the grand room with all the pillows.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank you so much for reading!! &lt;3 this was originally supposed to only be a &lt;1k drabble that eventually turned into a 10k monster lmao so thank you for riding it out to the end!! y'all are awesome; pls take care and have a great day! </p>
<p>you can also find me on <a href="https://twitter.com/jahgyong">twitter!</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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